Bursa Malaysia to trend higher towards 1,800 points level next week

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is poised to trend higher next week, driven by the return of foreign funds into the country and stabilising ringgit against the US dollar, with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI moving towards the 1,800 points level.
Affin Hwang Investment Bank Vice-President and Head of Retail Research, Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is expected to see a steady rally on the strength of global markets, including the US and Europe.
"We are confident Bursa Malaysia will retain the strong momentum seen in the first quarter as the year progresses.
"It will also be driven by upcoming new initial public offerings (IPOs), including that of Ecoworld International Bhd which will be listed on April 3, given its large market capitalisation," he told Bernama.
He said in addition, there will also be excitement from SME Corporation Malaysia working with Bursa Malaysia, to identify potential small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be listed on the SME Market in the second half of the year.
On another note, Nazri Khan said the US-Asean Business Council which represents American corporates, has reaffirmed their bullish optimism on future investments in Malaysia, especially with the Malaysian digital economy agenda.
"They believe it would lift the Malaysian economy to new heights," he added.
Meanwhile, on the international front, Nazri Khan said Britain had formally triggered the process of leaving the European Union, which is likely to remove uncertainties from the investing equation.
On a technical note, he said the next area of resistance for the FBM KLCI is between the 1,780 and 1,820 levels, while support stands at the 1,730 and 1,700 levels respectively.
"Any breakdown below the swing low support of 1,730, however, would turn the tide back with the FBM KLCI vulnerable to a deeper corrective retracement.
This is for now an unlikely scenario given the bullish Wall Street," he added.
On a week-to-week basis, the FBM KLCI slipped 5.66 points to 1,740.09 from 1,745.75 last Friday.
The FBM Emas Index fell 4.17 points to 12,361.69, the FBMT 100 Index was down 10.31 points to 12,006.69, but the FBM Emas Syariah Index gained 38.59 points to 12,811.34.
The FBM 70 surged 95.88 points to 14,550.47 and the FBM Ace jumped 107.92 points to 5,827.48.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index shed 88.4 points to 15,659.67 and the Industrial Index dipped 17.82 points to 3,254.42.But, the Plantation Index was 45.85 points stronger at 8,202.52.
Weekly turnover narrowed to 16.78 billion units worth RM12.78 billion from 22.23 billion units valued at RM15.24 billion last week.
Main Market volume slid to 12.01 billion shares valued at RM12.04 billion from 14.74 billion shares worth RM15.16 billion.
Warrant turnover eased to 1.04 billion units worth RM141.24 million from 1.23 billion units valued at RM149.62 million.
The ACE Market declined to 3.67 billion shares valued at RM590.18 million from 5.98 billion shares worth RM897.82 million previously.
Gold futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade range bound with an upside bias, a dealer said.
Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd Dealer Chu Ching Yong said market players would be taking cue from the US Commodity Exchange's (COMEX) gold market for market direction.
"Uncertainties over US President Donald Trump's tax and investment plans and a series of elections in Europe are expected to fuel demand for bullion as a safe haven.
"However, the strenghtening of the US dollar might capp gains in gold," he told Bernama.
The US dollar was on course for its best week in nearly two months, lifted by risk-off in European majors, firmer US economic data and the hawkish tone of several US Federal Reserve officials in respect of interest rate hikes.
Chu said a stronger dollar makes bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies, while higher interest rates lead to higher bond yields and dampen demand for non-yielding gold.
For the week just-ended, gold on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was traded higher on Monday but trended lower for the rest of the week in tracking the COMEX's performance which was driven by the stronger US dollar.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, March 2017 increased five ticks to RM176.55 a gramme, May 2017 and June 2017 shed eight ticks each to RM175.5 and RM175.6 a gramme, while April 2017 was flat at RM175.85 a gramme.
Turnover fell to 57 lots worth RM904,990 from 103 lots worth RM1.82 million last week.
Open interest on Friday was higher at 301 contracts compared with 294 contracts previously. — Bernama